A Hidden Fire
by maximumridewings14
Summary: Erika lives in the Hidden Leaf Village. She never knew her father, and her mother just died. The ninja exam is coming up soon, but that is the least of her worries! (Sorry, the summary is horrible).


Disclamer: Pish. Do you really think that if I owned Percy Jackson and The Olympians or Naruto, I would really be writing fanfiction about them? The answer is no. So, I don't own either of them. Believe it!

My Note: This is my first fanfic! Please tell me if I should continue the story, or if it's good, or that you read it, or that you ate a pineapple for breakfast this morning! Thank you for clicking on this and reading it!

Also: (Sorry, I'm kind of rambling here) This story takes place about eight or nine years after Naruto takes place.

* * *

As Erika sat next to her mother's tomb, deep in the forest, she didn't cry or scream. She didn't feel anything, in fact. There was nothing but numbness, blankness. Even though she hadn't eaten in two days, she felt no hunger, no pain. Her face and mind had been painfully blank since her mother's burial. Erika had barely said a word, save for when she arranged her mother's funeral.

The funeral, too, had been a small affair. Even though Erika's mother, Ami , had been admired in Hidden Leaf Village, Erika made sure that only a few of her and her mother's closest friends attended it. _"I want to send her off as she would have liked," Erika announced, though she had hoped not to talk at all. "And she was always a person who enjoyed small events. So, her funeral will be a small event, too." She glared at the people whispering around her, knowing that they only gossiped about her. "I don't care if you have any problems with it, either. This is how she would want to be remembered, so this is how I shall arrange her . . . departure." _Erika remained unable to say her mother's name, or even the words 'death', or 'funeral'. She had cried and screamed all she needed to, right after her mother died, and thought that all of her sentiments were gone, but for some reason, when she tried to speak those words, her throat tightened and refused to choke them out.

Finally, Erika's emotions resurfaced. She allowed herself to be sad, but just for a moment. _You have already gone through this pain. _Erika reminded herself. _You don't have to do it again. _"Make sure—" Erika's voice broke. "Make her happy, okay?" She stood up and brushed off her pants and combed a hand through her hair. "Before I go back to the village, I should freshen up," She thought aloud, but her voice was rusty from disuse. "Unless I'm mistaken, there should be a river nearby." Erika took a deep breath, only to begin coughing violently as she let it out. _It must be my voice. _Erika thought, silently this time. _Not talking for a long time must have affected it quite a bit, too._

Erika shook off these thoughts, and focused on building up the chakra in her feet. However, as she began to run, expecting high speed, instead, her feet seemed as heavy as lead. Her training, too, had been neglected as she mourned, and now she paid the price. Erika shook off her feet and began walking—at a normal pace—and meditated, allowing her mind to be at peace, rather than completely void of feeling, for the first time in what felt like years.

Soon, Erika arrived at a small creek. She stared at her haggard reflection—there were twigs and leaves caught in her long caramel-colored hair and her face was unusually pale. Her black t-shirt was torn in several places, as was the short white jacket that she typically wore atop of it. Even her red shorts were muddied and ripped. _It looks like the only clothes I wore that actually managed to stay intact were my shoes. _Erika thought dryly. She knelt down and splashed her face with the cold water, expecting to recoil, but discovering that she was already accustomed to freezing temperatures. She wet her hair, making an effort to neaten it up, but quickly gave up. Erika swiftly removed her shoes and plunged her feet in too, hoping that it would help her gather chakra more easily this time.

She hopped out of the water and quickly put on her shoes, continuing to focus on accumulating chakra in her feet. _Slowly, _She reminded herself. _Focus on your goal. _Her eyes were squeezed shut and as soon as she opened them, she took off.

Erika herself wasn't an especially fast runner, but with the boost from her chakra, she was able to get into the main part of Hidden Leaf Village generally quickly. As she stepped through the main gate, she was panting from exertion. She shook the water from her hair and smiled in spite of herself.

"Erika!" Iruka-Sensei shouted from far away, startling Erika. As he approached, Erika fought the urge to run away, knowing she was in for a lecture, or at least a long speech about how he gave her his condolences. Erika knew that he really was kind, but sometimes she just wasn't up for one of her Sensei's long talks.

"Yes, Sensei?" She groaned, but still replied dutifully to his calls.

"Your exams are coming up soon—two days from now, in fact!" He answered, getting straight to the point. "I understand that you haven't been coming to class recently—and your reasons were completely acceptable—however, just in case you forgot, make sure you study, or you might not pass!"

_The exam! _Erika thought, alarmed. _I totally forgot! Oh God—I'm going to fail!"_ Erika felt like slapping herself on the spot. _And I know my skills were getting rusty . . . Why couldn't have somebody told me this earlier! _Her surprise quickly transformed into anger after a few moments. "Senseiii~," She begged. "Please! Can I have just a week more to train!?" _It's not even training!_ She thought desperately. _I'm at least confident with the practical part of the test! It's just—the written examination! I crammed all that history into my head . . . but I forgot most of it, what with everything that's been going on in my life! _

"Nope." Iruka-Sensei responded remorsefully. "I wish I could, but I can't. You have to take it the same day as everyone else."

"Oh God" Erika said aloud. "I'm dead." _I didn't do any physical training, any mental training, any studying . . . I have no chance of cramming that all in within two days. It's impossible. _As Iruka-Sensei said his good-byes, Erika mentally berated herself. _What am I going to do now?_

Erika was totally panicked. But, before she had time to step out into the forest once again, her friend Mariya stepped in to the village, wiping sweat from her face.

Mariya's pretty complexion lit up as she saw Erika finally out of the forest. Her short, dark purple hair clashed with her sharp grey eyes. She wore, as she typically did, a loose blue shirt that reached down to her thighs, and a pair of baggy pants that were a dark blue. "Erika! You're back! I was just out training! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing as well as I could ever do when I forgot about—never mind," Erika hesitated to tell her closest friend about her idiotic blunder. _I don't need to burden her with my problems._ "How are you? How's your training going?"

Mariya smiled. "My training is going great! What'd you forget about?"

"The exams." Erika answered bitterly.

"Won't they give you an extension—you know, since you were dealing with your mom's . . ." Mariya asked worriedly

"They won't." Erika replied grimly. "I already asked Sensei, and he said that I'd have to take it on the same day as the rest of us. But, never mind that. My stupid mistakes are my stupid mistakes."

"But, I mean, that isn't really fair, is it?"

"Fair doesn't matter. Rules are rules, and that's that."

Mariya rolled her eyes, and laughed. "We'll find out something!" It was strange she seemed so happy, but Erika knew why. _She's just happy I'm back to normal, and I'm not going to go hide in a corner and live my life there. _

Erika nodded, but was preoccupied with her own thoughts. "I guess . . . you're right. First things first, I'll go practice my physical training." Erika hurried off as Mariya told her that she'd be there to help.

Erika ran, as fast as she could, to the Hokage Monument. It was rumored that, eight or nine years ago, before the famed ninja Naruto Uzumaki took his tests, he drew all over it! _Maybe it'll give me good luck._ _I'll need it. _

But, when she arrived, instead of focusing on the Hokage Rock itself, she noticed a chariot descending from the sky that crashed to a stop atop of the it. And, she heard a yell, angrily screaming a mysterious word. "Blackjack!"


End file.
